7.6/1029 votes#1 - Snake in the Grass
Season 8 Episode 1 - Aired 9/6/1998
Gina returns home from her uncle George's funeral and Blaketon tries to mediate some neighbors but his efforts are disturbed by acute food poisoning. A night club owner goes broke and Greengrass takes some belongings into possession to cover a debt of 75 pounds. The stripper's snake contained in a box happens to be among them.
Director: Gerry Mill
Writer: Jane Hollowood
7.7/1027 votes#2 - Fall Out
Season 8 Episode 2 - Aired 9/13/1998
A radioactive isotope contained in copper is in a car that is stolen when parked at The Aidensfeld Arms. At the same time Greengrass tells two school boys that in another episode 'found' golf balls to him that he could use some copper. Greengrass' little brother makes him have a racing dog in custody.
Director: Gerry Poulson
Writer: Brian Finch
7.4/1028 votes#3 - For Better or Worse
Season 8 Episode 3 - Aired 9/20/1998
Just after buying a car young Brian Rider has a serious solo accident and his mother blames the owner of the Motor Company. Greengrass takes over a couple of racing pigeons after the owner's funeral.
Director: Brian Farnham
Writer: Peter Gibbs
7.8/1027 votes#4 - Past Crimes
Season 8 Episode 4 - Aired 9/27/1998
A respectable bank manager finds his past coming back to haunt him. Greengrass fixes the outcome of a local golf tournament - much to Blaketon's annoyance.
Director: Brian Farnham
Writer: James Stevenson
7.5/1029 votes#5 - Spellbound
Season 8 Episode 5 - Aired 10/4/1998
Blaketon notices some strange activity at a graveyard at night but as he wants to investigate, he's knocked down. Greengrass tries his luck in the beauty business.
Director: John Reardon
Writer: Phil Ford
7.6/1030 votes#6 - Baby Love
Season 8 Episode 6 - Aired 10/11/1998
A young man sneaks around inside Moorside Lodge, a mothers' and babies' home, and Greengrass grabs an order to make a concrete driveway but as David refuses to work that very day, Greengrass has to make the unknown Gary do the job. Later an adopted baby is kidnapped.
Director: Gerry Mill
Writer: Anthony Read
7.7/1027 votes#7 - Give a Dog a Bad Name
Season 8 Episode 7 - Aired 10/18/1998
At a roadside 'shop' David sells some sheepskin rugs for Greengrass very cheaply. Craddock and the local veterinarian have grave disputes on drunk driving, and a fleas' epidemic gives a dog a bad name.
Director: Brian Farnham
Writer: Peter Gibbs
7.6/1026 votes#8 - Hello, Goodbye
Season 8 Episode 8 - Aired 10/25/1998
Greengrass wants to make a fortune as mobile shop keeper. An Indian doctor from Kenya stirs up ugly racist prejudices, and an illegal hunt for live badgers disturb the forest.
Director: Garth Tucker
Writer: Michael Jenner
8.0/1027 votes#9 - Pat-a-Cake
Season 8 Episode 9 - Aired 11/1/1998
Mel Drinkwater disappears on the way to her secret wedding and a former boyfriend, Michael, is suspected of making her diaappear. Greengrass' cat allergy is ruining his joy of a new business project. A burglar steals some medicine from Dr. Bolton's clinic.
Director: John Reardon
Writer: Helen Slavin
7.6/1032 votes#10 - Easy Rider
Season 8 Episode 10 - Aired 11/8/1998
An apparent UFO mystery intermingles with the death of an Italian racing cyclist. Greengrass recieves 200 gbomes from China, but they turn out to be models of Chairman Mao.
Director: Garth Tucker
Writer: Peter Barwood
7.8/1033 votes#11 - Hot Rocks
Season 8 Episode 11 - Aired 11/15/1998
Bellamy convinces Bradley to have a party at the Aidensfield Police Station. Lord Ashfordly's sister visits to introduce her new love, but he's very interested in Gina, and Greengrass has campers who modernize people's homes.
Director: Gerry Mill
Writer: Susan Wilkins
7.8/1031 votes#12 - Shadows and Substances
Season 8 Episode 12 - Aired 11/22/1998
Blaketon is appointed Warning Point Officer - in case of nuclear attack, but soon Greengrass grabs the initiative to make money on the security issue. A pupil smashes a front window of the teacher's car. Later another pupil drinks poisoned water in the woods and Bellamy's Granny leads a protest against noisy lorries.
Director: Terence Daw
Writer: Brian Finch
7.6/1026 votes#13 - Forbidden Fruit
Season 8 Episode 13 - Aired 11/29/1998
While David Fuller apparently is very busy at an auction his wife, Marianne, is brought to hospital in a critical condition. Bradley stumbles into a short flirt with her sister, Rachel, and Gina dreams about a trip to Paris.
Director: Gerry Poulson
Writer: Neil McKay
8.0/1028 votes#14 - Where There's a Will
Season 8 Episode 14 - Aired 12/6/1998
Eric Tatton and his wife are dead and his sister, Peggy, has to move out of their house. At the last moment she however decides to fight to stay. Bellamy seeks a flat and gets 'assistance' from Grengrass.
Director: Gerry Poulson
Writer: Peter Gibbs
7.6/1027 votes#15 - Taking Sides
Season 8 Episode 15 - Aired 12/13/1998
A road sign thief causes some disarray, and a Miss Aubrey charges Dr. Bolton with sexual harassment. Greengrass arranges local history theater in the open air, but doesn't it take two armies to make a battle?
Director: Garth Tucker
Writer: Michael Jenner
7.6/1029 votes#16 - Echoes of the Past
Season 8 Episode 16 - Aired 12/24/1998
Jane Hayes is nervous of her pregnancy and some mysterious incidents related to the past make her fear she's haunted. A Christmas Charity Dance is arranged in Aidensfield, and Greengrass gets the responsibility for a trophy at the event.
Director: Brian Farnham
Writer: Neil McKay
7.7/1027 votes#17 - Twists of Fate
Season 8 Episode 17 - Aired 1/10/1999
Mildred Crosby dies unexpectedly suddenly and Maggie Bolton is accused. An anonymous night rider 'borrows' frequently a horse and leaves it in an uneasy state. Two Japanese vases are stolen, and Greengrass obtains hot horse racing tips from a road bum.
Director: Paul Walker
Writer: Eric Wendell
7.1/1029 votes#18 - The Angry Brigade
Season 8 Episode 18 - Aired 1/17/1999
Barry Dixon is released from prison but is followed closely by an insurance detective. Lord Ashfordly has closed a pathway to a waterfall, but that decision meets strong opposition when a couple of tourists, Mr and Mrs Tidy, is stopped somewhat brutally. Bradley and Jackie Lambert, an attractive lawyer, develop common ground.
Director: Gerry Poulson
Writer: Peter Gibbs
8.2/1033 votes#19 - Fire and Ashes
Season 8 Episode 19 - Aired 1/24/1999
Maggie Bolton tells Neil that they are going to have a baby, but she's quite troubled about it and takes a small trip with Gina. Small fires in the area worry the police, and Greengrass has a railway carriage for holiday guests, but that makes Blaketon angry.
Director: Gerry Mill
Writer: Rob Heyland
7.6/1028 votes#20 - All in the Mind
Season 8 Episode 20 - Aired 1/31/1999
Blaketon loses focus on Greengrass because an even worse crook enters the area with some racing ferrets. Jackie Lambert visits Maggie Bolton to finish the paperwork on Dr. Bolton's death. An old woman witnesses a kidnapping. A young man annoys ordinary citizens intensely while presenting himself as PC Ventress.
Director: Brian Farnham
Writer: Johnny Byrne
7.9/1025 votes#21 - Friends Like You
Season 8 Episode 21 - Aired 2/7/1999
David wins £100 and buys some fine clothes, but the shopkeeper wants to sell more to him. Gina substitutes as singer in a new club in Whitby, but it turns into a nightmare as the police finds drugs in her handbag.
Director: Frank W. Smith
Writer: Brian Finch
7.2/1026 votes#22 - Old Ties
Season 8 Episode 22 - Aired 2/14/1999
An old friend visits Gina, and Aunt Mary fears trouble. Two brothers open a restaurant, and they are surprised by more than a brick through the window. An archaeologist inspires Greengrass to dig for a treasure.
Director: Gerry Poulson
Writer: Chris Thompson
7.6/1027 votes#23 - David Stockwell's Ghost
Season 8 Episode 23 - Aired 2/21/1999
A troubled family has moved into Aidensfield from Zambia. At the auction David happens to buy pigs instead of lambs, and Mrs. Ventress is hospitalized.
Director: John Reardon
Writer: Jane Hollowood
7.6/1026 votes#24 - Testament
Season 8 Episode 24 - Aired 2/28/1999
David Stockwell witnesses a hit and run incident.
Director: Gerry Mill
Writer: Susan Wilkins
The Best Episodes of Heartbeat Season 8
Every episode of Heartbeat Season 8 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Heartbeat Season 8!
Set during the 1960s in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield, this enduringly popular series interweaves crime and medical storylines.
Genres:CrimeDramaComedy
Network:ITV1
Season 8 Ratings Summary
"Snake in the Grass" is the best rated episode of "Heartbeat" season 8. It scored 7.6/10 based on 29 votes. Directed by Gerry Mill and written by Jane Hollowood, it aired on 9/6/1998. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Fall Out".